Legends of Hollywood Slideshow

The Postal Service solicited concepts from eight different artists for the stamp design. But the Postal team and CSAC quickly selected a portrait by artist Michael J. Deas because it captured Marilyn's sensual glamour without presenting her as a clichéd sex symbol. Deas painted her face using a studio publicity photo from the early 1950s as reference, but the torso and hands are composites based on different photographs of Monroe.

Michael Deas was also the artist for the James Dean stamp. Both the stamp design and the selvage artwork were drawn from photographs taken of Dean by Roy Schatt in 1954 in New York City. The moody lighting and dramatic sky perfectly convey Dean's image as a brooding and misunderstood loner. The original photograph on which the selvage design is based showed a cigarette in Dean's mouth — the cigarette was eliminated to conform to USPS policy against depicting smoking on stamps.

Tapped for the third stamp in the series, Deas painted a luminous portrait of Bogart as he appeared in his prime, modeling the head on a photograph used to create advertising for The Big Sleep (1944). Selvage art shows Bogart in the role of Rick Blaine, from Casablanca (1943). Deas used a still photograph from the movie as reference, but deleted the four other actors in the original scene, as well as the cigarette that was in Bogart's left hand.

This fourth stamp in the series was the first to honor a director and represented a departure from the look of the previous three. Art director Richard Sheaff elected to use black-and-white photographs for both the stamp and selvage designs, in keeping with the fact that Hitchcock's television show and many of his movies were shot in black and white. The outline silhouette of Hitchcock in the upper left corner of the stamp is actually die-cut, not printed.

Art director Howard Paine used a combination of painted and photographic artwork for this issuance. The stamp portrait, by Thomas Blackshear, was based on a black-and-white publicity shot from Warner Bros. and Vitaphone Pictures. Blackshear rendered the image in color and changed the tie pattern from polka dots to stripes. Paine selected a still photograph from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) for the selvage, and had it printed in black and brown ink to compliment the stamp.

Three artists worked on the Robinson stamp. The first died from injuries mid-stream. Efforts by the second, Thomas Blackshear, were stalled by differences of opinion between the two claimants to the estate and Karl Malden, a close friend of Robinson's. By the time the USPS returned to Blackshear, his studio was being remodeled; so illustrator Drew Struzan was hired to produce the final design. The selvage photograph shows Robinson as newspaper editor Joseph W. Randall in Five Star Final (1931).

Drew Struzan painted the portrait of Lucille Ball from a photograph supplied by Ball's children. Luci Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., were firm in their desire that the stamp design not show their mother as the comical Lucy Ricardo. Postal officials agreed to the children's request, but used a black-and-white photograph from a 1957 episode of I Love Lucy in the selvage to commemorate one of Ball's best-loved roles.

An early rendition of Michael Deas' portrait showed Grant in a suit, as he appeared in the source photograph, but CSAC requested that the suit be changed to a tuxedo to convey the suave image associated with Grant. Deas used a still of North by Northwest (1959) for the selvage, but modified it digitally to fit the format; changing the angle of the crop duster to add drama and extending the surrounding scene to the left to wrap around the stamps.

The white background of the Audrey Hepburn stamp is unusual for this series, and was not what artist Michael Deas planned. The original light, translucent background proved difficult to reproduce, so the portrait was silhouetted. Hepburn's son, Sean Ferrer, wanted a bump in Hepburn's nose articulated, saying that his mother was "a beautiful package of imperfections." Deas' striking painting of Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) graces the selvage.

The stamp portrait, by Drew Struzan, was based on a publicity photo for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Although the photograph was black-and-white, the Postal Service was given access to clothing worn by Wayne in the film for reference. The selvage illustration depicts Wayne in the role of Ethan Edwards from The Searchers (1956), a favorite film of Wayne's son Ethan.

For the Henry Fonda stamp, art director Derry Noyes turned to Drew Struzan. As a reference for the stamp design, Noyes selected a 1941 shot by Frank Powolny, liking the strong, direct gaze of the portrait. When Noyes saw Struzan's sketch for the selvage — Fonda as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) — she felt that the rough quality matched the role, and used it as final art.

Art director Ethel Kessler and artist Tim O'Brien faced a challenge in deciding how Judy Garland should be portrayed. O'Brien developed a painting based on Garland's appearance in her early film career, but the family wanted her portrayed as a more mature woman. The final portrait was drawn from a publicity photo from A Star is Born (1954), when Garland was in her thirties. The selvage photograph shows Garland in her definitive juvenile role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

In order to facilitate image approval, art director Phil Jordan and the design team showed Stewart's family a number of reference photographs up front. They selected a shot taken during the filming of The Stratton Story (1949), when Stewart was 41, as the basis for Drew Struzan's illustration. The selvage art features Stewart as classic American hero Jefferson Smith, and is modeled on a still from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939).

The stamp design features a portrait of Davis by artist Michael J. Deas based on a photograph made during the filming of All About Eve (1950). The original photograph shows Davis wearing fur, but due to concerns about objections from animal-rights activists, the Postal Service asked Deas to modify the coat. The selvage photograph is a black-and-white still from Jezebel (1938), showing Davis in the role of Julie Marsden, for which she won an Academy Award.

Art director Phil Jordan designed the stamp using a portrait by artist Kazuhiko Sano, which was based on a black-and-white photograph of Gary Cooper taken by George Hurrell circa 1940. The selvage art, based on a still from High Noon (1952), depicts Gary Cooper in his Academy Award-winning role as the courageous Marshal Will Kane.

This 16th issuance in the series honors Katharine Hepburn, one of America's most fascinating and enduring stars.

The 17th stamp in the series honors Gregory Peck (1916–2003), one of America's most respected actors. Peck's own favorite role, and the one for which he is most remembered, is Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird (1962).